Boat inspection unlikely in 2013

Published 10:01 pm, Friday, November 30, 2012

LAKE GEORGE — After meeting with state officials about a plan to protect Lake George from invasive species with a mandatory boat inspection system, the head of the Lake George Park Commission said it appears unlikely any program will be ready for the 2013 boating season.

A start next year had been the goal of the park commission, whose executive director, David Wick, met Thursday with officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to address claims made earlier this month by DEC's invasive species head that inspecting and washing boats would not be effective to keep out invasives from Lake George.

More Information

A copy of the invasive species prevention plan for Lake George can be found online at http://bit.ly/UPc3yY.

Wick defended the plan in a recent meeting with DEC Assistant Commissioner for Natural Resources Kathy Moser, who raised doubts about the proposed Lake George plan earlier this month at the Adirondack Park Commission, and DEC Regional Director Robert Stegemann.

On Friday, Wick said it was "unlikely" such a system will in place next year. He said DEC wants to perform further review, and whatever emerges will have to pass muster with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Another delay, he said, stems from state legislative control of a possible increase in the commission's annual boat registration fee needed to help fund the program., which would otherwise have no state financial support.

Under the proposal, the fee would rise from $37.50 to $75 for an average boat, along with a one-time $40 inspection fee on boats entering the lake from other water bodies.

"We were never putting any claim on state funds," he said, adding that a "fallback position for next year" will be a five-year-old voluntary boat inspection program done at selected boat launched by the not-for-profit Lake George Association, a conservation group.

The park commission is a state agency responsible for protecting the lake, but it receives no state funding. The commission relies solely on fees collected on boat and dock registration.

The potential delay in mandatory boat inspections drew criticism from Eric Siy, director of the Fund for Lake George, another conservation group that has been part of efforts to combat one of the lake's most troublesome invasives, the Asian clam.

"It is truly unfortunate if there is going to be foot-dragging," said Siy. "We are all looking to the state for decisive leadership at this time of unique threat to the lake, Clearly, local governments around the lake have already stepped up and invested their resources, with the expectation that the state would follow suit."

Siy said boats coming into Lake George from other infested water bodies, including Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, need to face mandatory inspections and cleaning. About a third of the 16,000 boats registered on Lake George each year visit other bodies of water that harbor invasives not yet in Lake George.

Moser and Stegemann could not be reached for comment. Stegemann's office referred a reporter to the DEC headquarters in Albany.

Asked if DEC had a position on the Lake George plan, the DEC press office issued this statement: "DEC is concerned about invasive species in Lake George. DEC is in the process of reviewing the Lake George Park Commission's draft proposal. We continue to work with the Lake George Park Commission and our other partners to determine the best methods to prevent and slow the spread of invasive species."

In addressing the APA on Nov. 15, Moser absolved boats as the source of 2010 Asian clam infestation in Lake George. And she said that mandatory inspections and pressure-washing to remove invasives from infested boats would only be marginally more effective that simple visual inspections and hand removal.

Wick said he disputed those assertions in his meeting with Moser and Stegemann.

The Lake George Association will continue its voluntary inspection program, said association Executive Director Walt Lender.

The not-for-profit group has spent about $200,000 on the program since it started to pay for people to watch boat launches and ask owners to submit to voluntary inspections. Such inspection have found more than 275 cases of invasive species.

However, some invasive species are too small to see with the naked eye, and can only be removed through high-powered washing or by drying all parts of a boat, including bilge water and bait wells.

"These is lot of commitment on the part of the local groups and governments to protect the lake," said Lender. He said the program could be expanded to include more inspections at launches that are currently unmonitored — if the state were to help with funding.

In October, a broad coalition of environmentalists, business leaders, scientists and government officials asked Cuomo for emergency state funds to combat the Asian clam, which has spread to eight locations in the lake despite $1.5 million spent by the park commission, Warren County and other partners in a bid to eradicate it.

A letter signed by 20 organizations appealed to Cuomo for "leadership in combating one of the single-biggest threats ever to face Lake George."